We All Break Differently
by xyoung.and.wild.and.freex
Summary: "We were brainwashed. But it's okay, because we were able to rewire our minds a bit. Not a lot, mind you. Just enough to see through facades and labels, and barely enough to accept these people behind them. Nothing more and nothing less."
1. Chapter 1

**Saturday, March 24, 1966. **

**Wagner High School, Tulsa, Oklahoma.**

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><p><em>Dear Mr. McKinley,<em>

_When we walked into the library this morning, there were three of us. When we left that afternoon, there were five. _

_The three of us that actually **were **supposed to be there acknowledge the fact that we had to be at school on a Saturday for whatever we did wrong to get detention in the first place. What we did **was **wrong._

_We know that. _

_So why do we have to write an essay telling you who **we **think we are? Do you really care? You didn't even notice that two people – well, to your definition, two greasers – snuck into **detention** about an hour into it. You don't see us as individual kids, but rather two groups of kids. Socs and greasers. It's always been that way. _

_Correct?_

_We know it's true, you know it's true. **Everybody **knows it's true. Hell, that's the way **we** saw each other at 7:00 this morning._

_We were brainwashed. But it's okay, because we were able to rewire our minds a bit. Not a lot, mind you. Just enough to see through facades and labels, and barely enough to accept these people behind them. Nothing more and nothing less._

_And we're all absolutely fine with that._

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><p><strong>hello, everyone! this is my first outsiders story. it's just a prologue, really, so far. it's going to be based LOOSELY off of "the breakfast club." hence the similar beginning. however, there will be a few similarities and references.<strong>

**it's a bit AU, in the sense that cherry and the greasers haven't met. however, for the sake of attempting to keep it a LITTLE like "the outsiders," johnny and dally are dead, just not in the way that we are used to, if you know what i mean...it will be explained later, so don't fret.**

**i'd really appreciate it if you'd review, just to see if this would be worth continuing. tell me what you think and let me knowww. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

_****_**okay. first chapter. okay. **

**disclaimer: i don't own the outsiders. i do, however, own the ocs. **

**enjoy. i hope. :)**

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><p><em><span>Ponyboy Curtis<span>_

From past experience, he knew that in the mornings, Wagner High School looked a little like one of those huge, looming prisons in those weird movies with escaped murder convicts that his youngest-older brother liked to watch on occasion.

However, Ponyboy Curtis wasn't sure what his high school that particular Saturday morning, seeing as his view was partially obscured by leaves – the reason for _that _being that he was currently crouching in a tree near the entrance, staring down to see who his companions for Saturday detention would be. He probably was taking it a step too far in hiding in a freakin' _tree,_ but he was simply taking precaution. After what happened to Johnny…

Shaking his head a little too much to clear his head of all thoughts, Ponyboy nearly lost his grip on one of the branches that had been helping him keep his balance. It was quite a ways down, and he didn't want to think about what would happen if Darry drove up to school to pick him up at three-thirty and he found his youngest brother dead on the ground. He'd lost too many people already. He didn't need to lose another.

No one did.

One hand tightened around the branch as he slowly raised his other arm to check the time. _7:26. _Detention began in exactly four minutes, and Darry would kill him if he found out that Ponyboy had been late for a punishment that really shouldn't have been given to him. After surveying the street for a few moments longer, Ponyboy took the chance and slowly began to scale down the trunk.

That is, until he heard a car pulling up to the curb and scrambled right back up to his safe hiding spot. He glanced at the shiny Mustang that had arrived. Two people climbed out, one girl and one boy, dressed in such a way that he knew that they both were Socs. If they didn't look up, they wouldn't notice Ponyboy – which would be good for Pony.

Snippets of conversation met Ponyboy's ears. Instinctively, he leaned forward, nearly falling out of the tree _again _in the process. The girl, with her long red hair flying out from behind her in the morning breeze, didn't look too happy, while the boy leaned against the car in a relaxed manner.

"…_I _shouldn't even _be _here," The girl was saying, her posture a bit too stiff to be called natural, "There's only gonna be delinquents in there. _I'm _not a delinquent!"

"I know, baby," The boy replied, reaching out to rub her arms in a supposed-to-be comforting manner, "But if any of them greasers give you a hard time, you get outta there as fast as you can and I'll pick you up, all right?"

"Okay, Bob."

Then they were kissing, and Ponyboy turned away to give them their privacy. It was bad enough that he had listened into their conversation, but watching them make-out was taking it a little too far. A few moments later, the girl walked into his line of vision. She stepped gingerly up the stairs, her hair bouncing with every step, and then disappeared into the school. The car roared away at exactly 7:29.

_Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. _

As Ponyboy slowly made his way back down to ground-level, he became distinctly aware of a continuous and slightly annoying tapping noise growing steadily louder and louder. He held his breath before turning around to face the noise.

The sound was coming from a girl, who was crossing the street with a white cane in hand. Dark glasses donned her face, and her cane raked the area in front of her as she walked, hitting the cement with a sort of rhythm. Her empty hand tugged at her caramel-colored hair nervously, and her teeth chewed on her bottom lip.

Ponyboy held his breath as the tapping came closer. The girl barely even glanced at him as she slowly strolled by. One step at a time, she made her way up the stairs carefully, as if one wrong step could end her life. It seemed like an eternity before the tapping finally stopped.

Ponyboy took a deep breath before he himself entered the school and made his way towards the place of his inevitable doom.

_The library._

He knew all the shortcuts in the school, a result of being chased by the Socs and needing a quick escape. With a few quick turns and such, he was able to get to the library on the opposite side of the halls in only a matter of a few seconds. In fact, he was only about thirty seconds late. The other two girls were apparently taking the long route. Ponyboy had already settled into a chair in the last row of desks.

Minutes later, the red-haired girl had walked in. Ponyboy leaned back in his chair, staring at her. He'd seen her around before. She was a cheerleader in the twelfth grade, two years older than Ponyboy himself.

Now that Ponyboy could see her from a relatively close angle, he could tell that she was quite the looker.

She scoffed a little, faltering in the doorway for a bit before sticking her nose even higher in the air. Ponyboy grimaced at her back as she plopped down in the furthest possible seat away from him. He could just imagine the things that were running through her mind at the moment – _greaser, hood, good-for-nothing scum_. Suddenly, she didn't seem so attractive anymore. Just because she was facing away from him, he stuck out his tongue at her. The middle-finger didn't seem appropriate in this situation.

While he propped his feet up on a nearby chair, the tapping noise from the second girl's cane met Ponyboy's ears. The cheerleader groaned to herself, muttering something under her breath that Ponyboy couldn't exactly make out.

The other girl appeared suddenly, her shoulder knocking on the doorframe a bit. The cane seemed to guide her away from any obstacles as she walked to a seat. When she passed the cheerleader's table, her stick banged into one of the table's legs.

"Knock it off!" The cheerleader said in annoyance, glaring up at the second girl. The second girl didn't seem to care, barely paying the cheerleader any attention. Ponyboy watched the girl in slight fascination. One hand held the everlasting-tapping cane, and the second fumbled around her for anything she could hold to steady herself.

Suddenly, it made sense.

The girl's empty hand made contact with a chair a few rows in front of Ponyboy, and she carefully sat herself down, placing the cane on the table in front of her.

A heavy, uncomfortable silence ensued. Ponyboy blew out heavily in what could have been conceived as boredom but was really a half-assed attempt in cutting the quiet. Of course, if he had waited a few more moments, the job would have been done for him.

A loud rapping at the window suddenly caught Ponyboy's attention. He turned towards it, and through the dirt-encrusted glass, his gaze was met by the goofy grins of his youngest-older brother, Sodapop Curtis, and Two-Bit Mathews.

"Glory," Ponyboy mumbled, getting out of his seat and walking over to the window. After a moment's hesitation, he slid the window up, unable to contain his own smile. "What the hell are you goofballs doing here?"

"Just checkin' in," Two-Bit smirked, heaving himself easily into the window before holding out a hand to assist Soda into the library, "Makin' sure you're not getting killed by any Socs."

"He could take 'em, Two-Bit," Sodapop argued on behalf of his younger brother, his handsome face lighting up slightly as he ruffled Ponyboy's hair. Ponyboy rolled his eyes, jerking away from Sodapop's hands.

"I'm _fine_," he grumbled, "Get lost before the teacher comes in and I get in trouble."

"Why on _earth _would you get in trouble?" Two-Bit's eyes widened almost comically, "We're just a coupla young, dapper men."

A snort came from the front of the room. Two-Bit turned towards the noise, and Sodapop's eyes narrowed a little. The noise had come from the cheerleader, who was looking at them coolly, an unafraid expression on her face. Ponyboy felt himself stiffen a little.

"Got something to say, Red?" Two-Bit snapped, his humor suddenly disappearing without a trace of ever being there, "Why don't you say it so we can hear?"

The cheerleader kept quiet. Sodapop gripped his friend's shoulder, "Cool it, Two-Bit."

Even if the cheerleader was a Soc, Soda thought that every girl should be treated with respect – and if you couldn't respect them because they were such bitches, then you just ignore them. Two-Bit, on the other hand, had quite a different way of looking at things.

Two-Bit ignored him and said, "What's your name?"

"Cherry." The red-head replied, straightening up as if to prove a point. Ponyboy wasn't exactly sure what point that was supposed to be, though.

Two-Bit raised one eyebrow, immediately making Ponyboy jealous. He'd always wanted to learn how to do that, "Damn unusual name if you ask me."

"I wasn't asking for your opinion. And Cherry is no more unusual than Two-Bit." Cherry shot back, her reply nearly as fiery as her hair. Ponyboy knew that Two-Bit was enjoying it, though he'd never admit it.

"Two-Bit's a nickname."

"So's Cherry."

Two-Bit opened his mouth to reply – and by the looks of it, it was a damn good comeback – when an older man walked into the room. He was wearing a pressed suit and had salt-and-pepper hair. Ponyboy groaned. Just what he needed. Soda let out a low whistle at the cold expression in the man's gray eyes.

"What's the deal?" At least Two-Bit had enough sense to keep his voice down for the time being.

"That's the vice principal, Mr. McKinley." Ponyboy replied, wanting desperately to shrink down and hide behind one of the bookcases, "He's an asshole."

"You!" Mr. McKinley barked suddenly, pointing at the three. Ponyboy nearly leapt out of a pants, fearing for a moment that the vice principal had heard him, "Sit down!"

Ponyboy immediately did as he was told, not wanting to get on Mr. McKinley's bad side so early in the morning. Soda and Two-Bit stood there still, though, unsure as to what to do. Neither of them were even supposed to be in there.

"What did I just say?"

"Well, you see, sir," Two-Bit stepped backwards a little, one hand on the windowsill, "Me and Soda here – we aren't actually supposed to be in Saturday detention. We're good young lads, aren't we, Soda?"

"We sure are!" Soda agreed wholeheartedly, "So, if you'll excuse us, we'll just be on our way!"

Mr. McKinley scoffed, "What, do you think I was born yesterday? Don't try to get out of this. Sit your asses down."

Ponyboy looked down at his hands. Both of his brothers worked far too hard for anyone's liking. After their parents died in a car accident a few years ago, Darry had to mature too quickly for someone just barely entering adulthood. A year or so after that, Sodapop dropped out of school so that he could work full-time at the DX and help Darry with the bills. If Soda missed a day of work and Steve, his best friend, didn't cover for him, he could easily lose his job.

"I have to go to work." Sodapop protested, a single hand attempting to work the latch on the window. "I really _can't _stay."

"_But baby, its cold outside_!" Two-Bit sang back, sinking down to his knees and clutching at Soda's legs. Soda gave him an incredulous look, trying to fight back his own smile, and practically kicked the slightly shorter boy off of him.

"You should have thought about that before you got detention!" Mr. McKinley growled. Two-Bit had apparently gotten bored with playing around and had stood up, straightening his leather jacket.

"I don't even _go_ here!"

"Shut up and sit!"

Sodapop gaped at Mr. McKinley for a moment, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. Two-Bit grabbed Sodapop's arm, leading him over to the other desks. Ponyboy blinked a little as Sodapop took the seat in front of him and Two-Bit walked to the front of the room, climbing up onto the desk directly in front of the vice principal and crossing his legs, Indian-style, blinking up childishly at the older man.

"What the hell – "

"You told me to sit down," Two-Bit shrugged innocently, "I'm sitting, aren't I? You didn't specify _where, _dear old man."

"On a _chair,_" Mr. McKinley clarified almost venomously, apparently not appreciating being called old. Two-Bit nodded and jumped off the desk, climbing underneath it in order to reach the chair on the opposite side.

"Well, why didn't you say so?"

"Don't mess with me, kid," Mr. McKinley warned.

"No sir, I wouldn't dream of it!" Two-Bit shook his head earnestly, eyes widening. Sodapop leaned back in his chair, letting out a throaty chuckle at Two-Bit's antics. Ponyboy gently put his head down onto the desk, not daring to look up again because of pure embarrassment.

"You're going to be writing an essay," Mr. McKinley drawled, taking paper from a stack on a nearby desk before walking around and passing one out to each teenager in the room, "About who you think you are. It'll be one thousand words – no more, and no less." He glanced at Two-Bit. "And by _essay, _I mean a real _essay. _Not a single word repeated one thousand times." He paused for a moment, "You're not to move from these seats. I want it to be completely silent. If I even hear a single peep – well, you don't even want to know what I'll do." His eyes landed on the girl with the dark glasses, "For God's sake, we're indoors. You don't need those ridiculous glasses."

The girl raised her hand to her face slowly, hesitantly, as if she wasn't sure if Mr. McKinley was talking to her or not. Two-Bit's face darkened for a moment.

"Are you stupid?" Two-Bit snapped. "She's blind, dick."

The room got quiet as Ponyboy slowly lifted his head again to survey the room. Everyone had suspected it, but no one had wanted to say anything. That was the thing about Two-Bit, though, he sort of said things before he could think about what he was saying or how it would affect those he was speaking about. With an afterthought, Two-Bit swiveled around in his seat, grinning at the girl even though he knew that she couldn't see it, "No offense."

"I'm not offended." The girl replied, looking right at Two-Bit but not exactly seeing him. His smile faltered a bit as she slid off her glasses. "I have a name," she continued, "Its Annie. Just so you know."

"Thanks for enlightening me." Two-Bit shot back, before slamming a palm to his forehead, "Wait!" he exclaimed, turning towards Mr. McKinley, "How's she gonna write her essay if she can't see?"

"Dick," Sodapop muttered, earning a glare from Two-Bit and a grin from Annie, who turned around and smiled in the general direction of Soda.

Mr. McKinley glanced at the large clock mounted on the wall, "You have seven hours and forty-nine minutes to think about that." With that, he started towards the doorway. Right before he disappeared through the doors, though, he turned and, with a smirk, said, "For the next seven hours and forty-nine minutes, _you're mine._"

The doors slammed closed as Ponyboy muttered to himself, "Oh, the joy."

For a few moments, all that could be heard was the echo of the slammed door as well as the slow tick-tock of the clock. Annie let out a breath, leaning backwards in her chair so that the two front legs lifted off of the floor.

"Oh, shit!" Two-Bit suddenly bellowed, his voice jumping around the formerly-quiet library and nearly causing Annie to fall completely out of her chair, "What if we have to take a piss?"

Ponyboy let his head drop again, not even caring as his forehead thumped onto his table loudly.

It was going to be quite a long day.

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><p><strong>the song mentioned a bit by (coincidentally) two-bit is "baby, it's cold outside", originally sung by frank loesser and lynn garland in 1944. <strong>

**anonymous reviews are NOW ENABLED, so don't be shy! thank you to those who took the time to review, alert, and favorite this story the last chapter. it certainly means a lot. **

**i have written a dally/oc one-shot, but it's a bit...more realistic? i suppose, considering dally's personality. so go check it out and review, too!**

**well, what are you waiting for? go on. review, please! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

_Cherry Valance_

Really, of all the days that she could have chosen to skip class with Bob, she had to choose Wednesday – and _really, _of all the days that she actually had skipped class with Bob, God had to choose that particular Wednesday for her to get caught.

Cherry Valance was a good girl for the most part. She did the dishes when her mother asked, she helped her younger brother with his homework, she rarely swore, she was still a virgin, and she prayed nearly every night. What exactly had she done to deserve this punishment?

It wasn't even _fair. _Bob hadn't gotten detention because he hadn't gotten caught. They had agreed to meet in the front of the school at Bob's car, both taking different routes. Cherry's route just happened to go past the men's room and Mr. McKinley had just _happened _to be done peeing.

_If he washed his hands, I wouldn't be here right now._

Cherry was sure she was the only normal one there. Three greaser boys and a blind girl were her other companions. What a dysfunctional group.

Quickly glancing to her right, her eyes connected with Two-Bit's. He smirked a cocky-as-hell smirk at her and she averted her eyes, looking back down at her still-blank paper. Even though she'd never willingly admit it, Cherry was absolutely terrified. Those greasers could rough her up real easy when Mr. McKinley wasn't in the room and no one would help her. Hell, the one person who could help her was blind. Annie probably wouldn't be of much assistance.

Something hit her in the temple, jolting her out of her reverie and hurting far more than a ball of paper should. Taking a deep breath, she bent down to pick up the crumpled sphere before looking back up into Two-Bit's smug expression.

"You dropped something," Cherry said flatly, toying with the ball in her hand.

"Mind giving it back?"

Cherry didn't reply, but instead scoffed and turned back forwards, tossing the paper as if it were a basketball towards the wastebasket. It fell a few feet short, causing Two-Bit to snort and Cherry to flush a deep red and hide behind the curtain of her hair.

"Leave her alone, Two-Bit," The youngest greaser – was his name Ponyboy? – muttered from the back. Cherry swiveled around to look at him in disbelief. He didn't notice, as his head was down on the table and he was sprawled across the wooden top. The greaser in front of him – the really handsome one that she was pretty sure was named Sodapop – smirked and nodded once.

"You guys are no fun," Two-Bit snapped, pulling himself up onto his own desk. His legs swung back and forth, "Detention really changes a man, don't it?"

Apparently, he didn't realize that they had been in there for all of twenty minutes.

Cherry sighed, leaning back in her chair and squeezing her eyes shut, "I can't believe this is actually happening to me."

"Darlin', closin' your eyes ain't gonna help you," Two-Bit called. There was the distinct flicking sound of a lighter lighting up, and then Two-Bit raised a cigarette to his lips. Cherry stared at him in disgust.

"You can't smoke in here," she said, nearly choking on the smell of cigarette in the room. Two-Bit blinked at her a moment and then blew out a perfect smoke ring. He didn't reply, though. Cherry rolled her eyes for what seemed like the billionth time in the last several minutes. She let out a heavy sigh, "Just because you're a greaser doesn't give you the right to be a pain in the ass."

"Little Lady Prom Queen swore," Two-Bit looked at his cronies with a sort of mock shock, and he blew out again, "Listen here, it's a free country."

"Come on, Two-Bit," Sodapop said, slumping over onto his desk, just like his younger brother, "Can't you just shut your trap for once in your life?"

"I will if she does."

Cherry couldn't help but notice how childish he sounded right then, with his sullen expression and pouty lips. She smiled a little at this before facing forward again. Two-Bit apparently saw this and quipped, "Well, lookit, now she thinks she won."

"Don't –"

"Whatever," Two-Bit simply waved her off. Cherry shut her mouth, rolling her eyes. Annie giggled in the background, but to Cherry, she was simply noise. Two-Bit's attention seemed to have been recaptured by the poor girl, and he stood up _on _his desk, leaping over onto Annie's table. The sudden noise made her let out a sharp squeal and she jumped up, tripping over her chair right onto the floor.

"Sorry, kiddo," Two-Bit said, stepping down from the table and reaching down. He paused for a minute, waiting for her to take his hand. She didn't for a very good reason – she had no idea that he was trying to help him.

Sodapop was apparently the more intelligent of the two, because he got out of the chair and actually grabbed Annie's hand. She got the hint, hoisting herself up. Two-Bit looked slightly embarrassed, but shook it off with a simple grin.

"Thanks," Annie mumbled, looking down as if avoiding Sodapop's eyes. He nodded, even though she couldn't see him, and she pulled her hand back, groping out in front of her to find her chair. Once she had sat back down again, Two-Bit coughed loudly so that Annie would know he was right there before sitting right in front of her on her table.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine," Annie replied a bit snappishly, her cheeks heating up a little.

Sodapop rolled his own eyes and then returned to his seat, muttering something like, "Wouldn't kill you to say thanks."

Annie flushed even deeper, her expression softening a little, "Sorry," she said in what seemed like sincerity but Lord knows that even that could be faked, "Thanks, I guess."

Sodapop gave Annie a long, strange look before cracking a small smile, "You're weird, but you're welcome."

Ponyboy let out a loud groan, but didn't look up from the table. Cherry felt bad for the kid, having to spend all of his free time with those hooligans.

Two-Bit returned to his own seat, actually sitting nicely and straight for a few minutes. Cherry turned towards her paper, which still had nothing written on it. She saw Mr. McKinley appear in the doorway and then she hastily scribbled:

_My name is Sherri Valance, but most people call me Cherry. I am a senior at Wagner High School. _

Mr. McKinley entered the room, looking around at the students and Sodapop with a cold look in his gray eyes. Cherry swallowed as his eyes landed on her, breathing out in relief when they glanced away to glare at Two-Bit.

"Get that smug look off of your damned face," he growled. Two-Bit's smirk grew wider and he sighed in a mock-offended way, making Annie smirk from behind him and Ponyboy finally raise his head in order to watch the show.

"This is just my face, Mister," Two-Bit replied in a would-be innocent manner if his eyebrow wasn't raised in a way that made him look very mischievous, "Why in the world would I look smug if all I've been doin' is sit here like the gentleman I am?"

Annie snorted, "Gentleman, my ass," she whispered in a low tone that Mr. McKinley seemed to hear. He opened his mouth to say something, but then seemed to think better of it and instead looked at all of them as a whole.

"Why is that door closed?"

Sodapop looked at the other man in confusion before tentatively raising his hand, "Mister," he furrowed his eyebrows, "You closed it."

"Don't be smart with me!"

"I'm _not _trying to be," Sodapop argued, blinking. Cherry looked back at him. He looked bewildered, but his eyes had an angry glint to them. She didn't know exactly why, but Sodapop suddenly looked very, very attractive to her. He always was a doll. Not that Cherry would do anything about it. She had a boyfriend, a very loving boyfriend who she wouldn't break up with for the world. Sure, he had some flaws, but everyone did. Didn't they?

Annie bit her lip, trying to contain her own smile. Two-Bit seemed proud. Ponyboy had laid his head back down onto his desk.

"You're asking for it, boy," Mr. McKinley said warningly. Sodapop scoffed.

"Give me all the Saturday detentions you want," He replied, standing up and placing his hands on the surface of his table and leaning forwards, "Go ahead. See if I care."

A low whistle emitted from Annie, who had leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. To no one in particular, she said, "I like him. He has balls."

Cherry rolled her eyes. She hated when girls spoke like that. Annie was probably a greaser, though she didn't seem like one from the outside. Her light-brownish hair was distinctly like Françoise Hardy's, with the bangs and all. Honestly, Cherry couldn't see the appeal with your hair pretty much hanging in your eyes all day. Other than that, Annie wore a relatively respectable outfit – her skirt was a good length and her shirt was buttoned up just enough. Still, her mouth suggested otherwise.

"Watch your mouth, young lady," Mr. McKinley said. Annie let out a heavy sigh, muttering something under her breath that caused Two-Bit to swivel around in surprise. Whatever it was that she said, though, Cherry didn't hear it. Neither did Mr. McKinley. With one last look to all five kids, he turned on his heel and marched back out of the library, the door slamming shut behind him.

"I hope he remembers that he closed it that time," Ponyboy said from the back of the room, instead resting his chin on the table so that he could look at his brother in front of him. Sodapop turned and gave Ponyboy a boyish grin, which Ponyboy returned after a moment.

Two-Bit, still facing forwards, said, "Where'd you learn to talk like that?" At first, no one was quite sure who he was talking to. He swiveled around, tapping Annie's desk until her light blue eyes turned in the general direction of where he sat, "I'm talkin' to you, Annie."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Annie replied, placing her elbows on the table and cupping her chin in her hands so that she gave him an innocent look, "I'm a perfectly well-mannered young lady who has never said a single word to offend anyone in my entire life."

"Well-mannered young lady, my ass," Two-Bit rolled his eyes, "Most Soc girls blush if they say 'balls' or 'fuck', and you've said both," he gave her a once over, and Cherry could only assume that Annie had cursed at Mr. McKinley when he had reprimanded her, "You don't look like a greaser."

"I'm not."

"Then what are you?"

"A hippie."

There was a beat of silence before Two-Bit began to laugh, "You're a liar."

"How would you know that?" Annie challenged, "You wouldn't," she continued before Two-Bit could argue, "I'm not a hippie, but I'm not a greaser or Soc either."

"Then what are you?" Two-Bit repeated.

"Middle-class," Annie replied, "Does it matter?"

Two-Bit seemed taken aback at her question. Of course it mattered. Still, he grinned, even though she couldn't see him, "Guess not," he said before asking, "Do middle-class girls cuss a lot?"

Annie seemed to think about this for a while before shaking her head, "No," she said slowly, "I don't think so."

"It's only you, then?"

"I don't cuss _a lot, _I cuss when necessary."

"Telling McKinley to fuck off was necessary?"

"Very."

"Huh," Two-Bit said, leaning against his chair, "Ya know, I think I like you, kid."

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><p><strong>to be clear, annie doesn't swear very often. right now, she's kind of putting on a show so that two-bit and sodapop and ponyboy don't bother her. it will be explained more in upcoming chapters. <strong>

**tell me what you think, yes? review, please. **


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